Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi team
My daughter is wondering about making a very simple solar cell out of aluminum (connected to wires etc). Will aluminum and the necessary positive/negative leads be enough to capture some sort of energy from the sun, or is this completely unrealistic!?
Some Youtube clips show a coke can beijg used to capture energy but there seems to be a lot of people who question this.....thus, I am asking here.

Many thanks for your help
Bob

Hi Bob,

A quick online search turned up a few references to solar heaters made from aluminum soda cans. It appears that this kind of solar panel may work to some extent.

Electrical solar cells normally use a type of semiconductor that produces electrical energy from light. I am not aware of a solar cell design made only from aluminum connected to wires.

There are several Science Buddies projects related to solar and other energy sources. These can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ergy-power

Your daughter may find some ideas in these projects that are useful for developing her solar energy project.

I hope this helps. Please ask again if you have more questions.

A. Norman